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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Deja-Vu, Maya Zankoul's illustration

I came across Maya Zankoul's during the electoral "let's integrate women into our ads" fever. Back then she made fun of billboard campaigns, putting them all into one section with her "Sexy Elections" post.

Back then I had some reservations on how she operates. I personally would have preferred to see such a talented and successful <b>woman</b> let people know more about what she thought of these campaigns. What she thought about the promised equality if you vote for the Lebanese Forces, the promise of beauty if you vote for the Free Patriotic Movement or the promise of I don't know what if ... euh... someone votes for a woman in pink lingerie.

But then again, Maya's blog is more about design rather than politics, be it the Lebanese politics or the feminist politics, so she opted for the typically Lebanese, mainly East Beiruti, attitude of "I don't like anyone, they all suck, let's make fun of them." To be honest, I didn't mind that attitude, I mean it's a politically correct and saves her a lot of trouble, the kind of trouble we got at the feminist collective when Nadine posted her notorious "Top 12 reasons why the billboard campaign "Sois-Belle et vote" is offensive to women."

Anyway, ever since that day I became a mild fan of Maya, I even follow her on twitter (@mayazankoul). But I didn't quite adore her.

You can say things changed tonight when I came across "Deja-vu" that she posted a couple of days ago. Notice how she depicts herself crying and declaring the end of the Lebanese world (again) by recalling the destruction of bridges and the closure of the airport?

Maybe it's just me being all radical and everything, but I don't believe the real worry is the broken bridges, or the closed airport. I mean, I don't know, maybe thousands of people killed, misplaced and stripped of basic human needs and rights is a more pressing issue, maybe?

Again, I am not asking Maya to be more politically engaged or demanding her to make a point, but if you are going to recall the July war, aren't you supposed to give respect to the people who have suffered trauma that slightly exceeds broken bridges?

I am just seriously fed-up with this "OMG... does that mean I won't be able to snob as much as before" attitude. War is much more serious than that.